


Wayland's song

by InnerCinema



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man 3 - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Norse Religion & Lore, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: AO3 1 Million, Angst, BAMF Tony, Character Death, EVER!!!, F/M, FIx It, I want this to lead to FrostIron Bromance, Implied/Referenced Torture, Loki needs a hug too, Mama Frigga is the best and won't die, Odin's A+ Parenting, Sigyn would totally give him one, Thor is a good brother, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, brutal abuse of norse mythology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-09-04
Packaged: 2018-01-12 21:06:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1200577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnerCinema/pseuds/InnerCinema
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>„I can and will cease your nightmares, even reverse the fire that engulfed your fair beloved from inside. Under one condition…” Perfect lips curved into an irritatingly familiar smile. “You must vow to help me free my husband.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Close my eyes...

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my new, precious baby!  
> I'm totally writing outside my comfort zone here but I hope you like it anyway.  
> This story is dedicated to my dear friend who is always proud of me when I finally have the guts to write some angst.
> 
>  

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And if I only could,  
> Make a deal with God,  
> And get him to swap our places,  
> Be running up that road,  
> Be running up that hill,  
> Be running up that building

“Hey! hey, Tony! Wake up!”

_No, I don’t wanna wake up!_

The Voice shakes him. “Go away.” he slurs but that is nothing new by now.

“Tony, you can’t do this.” the voice says firmly but seems to withdraw.

_Nice voice._

When he hears the soft wirr of shutters, he revokes his notion. Bright sunrays make him squirm on his… what is it he’s lying on? It doesn’t matter, does it? “Go away, voice! Leave me alone… ‘m fine!” He grabs something soft to cover his eyes and hopes it’s a blanket or something. But it’s stuck. Something is pulling on it.

“No, Tony. I’m not going until you have at least sobered up and taken a shower, so god helps me. You look pathetic and stink like a skunk.”

“What’s Thor t’do with my shower?” he asks the voice dubiously and squints. “Oh! Hey, Rhodey. Long time not seen. Now go away.”

“No, I won’t go away and not get your lazy ass into the shower or I’ll drag you. The funeral is in a few hours. This is the least she deserves.”

“Yeah, sure. Let the guy that killed her walk behind the empty coffin. Great Idea.”

“You did not…” A sharp intake of air was audible as his friend run his hands over his face. “You did not kill her, damn it! You were looking for the antidote, you just didn’t know how much time you had or what would trigger Extremis, okay?” Rhodey crouched down. Too close for Tony’s taste. “She would want you there, would be sad if you weren’t.”

_‘You’re the only family I’ve got.’_

_Fuck!_

For the first time since he’s been conscious again, the memories flood back into his mind. That he did not need. There was a reason why he had been drunk the past few… “What day is it?”

“Tuesday.”

Okay, the past four days. Congratulation, Mr. Stark, this is the record since Iron Man. Maybe he could set the goal even higher, you know, for the next time his one and only true love died because he was not fast enough to save her.

Something poked him. Annoying, because it sure was not his next bottle of booze to drown his sorry little thoughts. “You need to go outside. Meet people. Because someone has to make sure you realize it was not your fault.” _Yeah… like that’s gonna happen…_ But he complied. Grudgingly, but he did and at least tried to get up. ‘Luckily’ the helping hand was never far.

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

 

Frankly, he had never believed it to go as well as it did. Almost smoothly. Rhodey had him cleaned up and then they drove to the stage to play the devastated boyfriend, mourning as if it had only been one big tragedy, no one at fault but the Mandarin and his little henchmen. The other Avengers had been there too, to express their condolences. He appreciated it but only widow seemed to see through the farce though she did not say anything back there – he hoped she would leave it at the intense stare of disapproval.

But he was alone now. And finally, he felt the soothing weight of a mostly full Whiskey bottle in his hand. No one there to talk him out if it or get him out of the house. He had muted JARVIS days ago, right when he first started nagging and he was pretty sure it was the AI that had called Rhodey. Traitor.

“Sir, you have a guest. She is in the living room.”

 _Well… think of the devil and he will speak, huh?_ But then, the words sank in.

“What? How could someone come here? Didn’t I tell you to stop letting people in?”

“I did not let her in. My sensors just detected her. I apologize but she must have deactivated them somehow.” The AI seemed hesitant to continue. “Magic… perhaps.”

“WHAT?” Tony groaned and pulled his hair in indignation. “I fucking _hate_ magic!” Yes, he was pissed, but mostly irritated. He did everything there was to do. Why could the universe not leave him alone for one drink? It was supposed to be over! Without Her, nothing mattered anyway.

When he entered the living room, he still was honestly startled because there was really a woman waiting on his couch: Tall, nice curves, golden hair that would probably reach the back of her knees had it not been curled and braided around her head in a complicated fashion and – speaking of complicated – a dress that looked ancient and almost regal. _Asgardian_ was the first thought that came to his mind as his eyes locked with blue ones, calm and kind. Because who else would look like from a fantasy movie and pop up in his living room without alarming JARVIS (the only one who could achieve that in Tony’s opinion was Natasha and she sure as hell did not dress like that!).

Anger crept up his throat. Damn gods with their healing ability and endless lifespan! “Lady, what the hell are you doing in my living room?!”

“Greetings, Man of Iron. I am here to submit a proposal to you.”

“Thank you. Not interested. Bye.” Ignoring her further, he headed for the bar but halted his steps upon her next words.

“I highly doubt you are not interested in getting back what you lost. Or… dare I say buried?” The engineer swallowed hard and looked at her but all possible responses stayed stuck in his throat, so she continued after a moment of assessment. „My name is Sigyn of Asgard. I can and will cease your nightmares, even reverse the fire that engulfed your fair beloved from inside. Under one condition…” Perfect lips curved into an irritatingly familiar smile. “You must vow to help me free my husband.”

“Don’t mock me.” he hissed because this sounded too good to be true and ran a calculating gaze over her whole demeanor.

“I would not dare to tell you lies to amuse myself with your grief. No, my plea is genuine for I indeed need your help.”

“You’re pretty good at incentives, I must say.” he responded with a husky voice and went for the bar anyway. He trusted her as far as he could throw her but on the other hand, there was nothing left to lose, he would even help some crazy stranger if there was only the faintest glimpse of hope to get Her back. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Thank you for your kindness, but I am afraid I have to refuse.”

“Really? Well I need one.”

When the glass was filled, he looked at the bottle and took it anyway. One never knew these days, maybe her story was more insane than he imagined. “So… who is your husband and why does he need to be freed – or better from what?” he flopped down on the couch next to her but with enough space between.

“Loki is m…”

Tony almost choked on his drink. “What?! LOKI?!”

“Yes.”

How could she be so calm? How could she _ask for help_ in that matter?! „Sorry, Lady, but I’m not overly thrilled to get my brain washed by your husband or by you and I like earth the way it is: without aliens or giant portals leading into space. Why should I help him? As far as I remember, _he_ is the bad guy.”

“As far as I remember, so were you, _Merchant of Death_.”

“But I changed.”

“Yes, but he never got the chance to do the same. Think about it.”

The engineer let out a bitter laugh. “Then he should stay where he is. Imprisonment does wonders on helping changes of mind.”

“Maybe, but I doubt that the feeling of poison burning through eyeballs helps contemplating about one’s attitude.” Her voice was chatty but his underlying anger evaporated almost instantly. At least for now.

“But Thor told us…”

“Thor is an optimist. He thought that since the invasion had been stopped before it had even begun, Odin would bestow grace upon his brother. But he tends to forget that his father is an egocentric fool who values politics and reputation over family, especially when it is only the _adopted_ son.” She all but spat the last words. “To be fair, Loki may have said some rather unkind words about Asgard’s peers.” Tony snorted, though he immediately ceased to when he saw her devastated face. “But that is no reason to take away our children and then sentence him to lie below a snakes fangs that constantly drop their venom onto his eyes.”

“Sick bastards…” he mumbled and took a mouthful of his drink. Even he was not angry enough to have the guy sentenced to this cruel shit. Hell, even Barton would be more lenient, especially now that Agent was back from the officially dead.

 

“But how do you want to bring P… bring her back to life when you can’t even free your husband from incarceration?” He pointedly ignored the empathic look she shot him.

“Loki’s daughter is Hel, the empress of Niflheimr where she reigns over the souls of the dead. She can, under special circumstances, bring a soul back to life. A pact with the Norns forbids her to do so but they have not been in her good books lately.” A short but gleeful smile made its way to her lips but vanished as fast as it had come. “But we need Loki free or she won’t grant freedom to your precious shieldmaiden.”

“Okay, got it.” because why not? This would conquer the top of his list of crazy-things-I-have-done-so-far but since when was he someone to avoid crazy ideas, especially when so much depended on it? “And what do I have to…” A loud rumble drowned the rest of his sentence and his guest became pale, paler than she had been before.

“My apologies, but I have to go immediately. Seek Thor. He knows what to do.”

 

“Hey! Wait!”

Her last words all but echoed when she vanished into thin air and when Tony tried to grab her, she was gone for good. He let his hand sink in utter confusion. ”Fucking magical-girl…” he mumbled and drowned his drink.


	2. ... and leap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Thanks for reading my story and thanks for the kudos <3 they warm my heart and feed my muse

“Hey Thor, buddy! Cap’s taking is taking us to the Met for ‘cultural education’…” Clint actually made the effort to sign quotation marks with his hands “… wanna come?”

The God of Thunder smiled apologetically and shook his head. “I fear I am not able to appreciate the beauty and glorious history of paintings today, my friend.”

The archer nodded and waved him goodbye. “We’ll bring you something fun from the souvenirs-shop!”

Thor waved back but let his hand sink the moment his comrade left the room. Smiling had become more strenuous these days, since he had come back to Midgard. His relationship with fair Jane had come to an end about two hours after his arrival. She had met someone else, not wanting to wait any longer for a man of whom she was not sure he would ever come back for her. Surprisingly, this was not the reason of his misfortune and that, well that could only mean that he had not been as much in love with her as he had anticipated. Maybe they could still stay friends – Darcy already promised to be there whenever he needed someone. She was sweet. Just like a little sister and…

And that was the true reason of his melancholy: Originally, he had come back to ask his fellow Avengers for help to free Loki but everyone still suffered too much from the attack. He did not want to prolong his brother’s suffering yet he did not want to lose his dear shieldbrothers either. Especially Clinton and the son of Coul were very sensitive regarding this topic.

“Oh hey, Point Break! All alone?”

A familiar voice tore him away from his cheerless thoughts and soon he smiled at a certain Tony Stark that seemed to radiate a similar fake-happiness. “Greetings, friend Anthony. The others have gone to a museum. How do you fare today?” They both knew he only asked because it was polite. He did not know Tony Stark well but the funeral, the day prior had shown him more about the man than he could possibly have learned in years of comradeship. Thus, it was veraciously surprising to see him so soon.

“Perfect! I wanted to talk to you alone! And for heaven’s sake: call me Tony.””

“Then sit with me and speak your mind.” He made a gesture to the space on the couch next to him and the engineer easily took the invitation. His whole jovial, easy demeanor fell when he started to talk. Thor was astonished by the amount of honesty he was shown and almost immediately followed suit while listening.

“Yeah so I came because I wanted to ask you some stuff and because someone told me to seek you out which has to do with the first part so yeah, I’m just gonna fire away: First of all, du you know a woman named Sigyn? Tall, blonde, said she was your baby-brother-and-failed-conqueror-of-earth’s wife…”

“Why yes, how do you know of her?”

“Well… she popped up in my living room yesterday and she happened to mention there was a way to… bring Pepper back. Something with Loki’s daughter being the empress of the dead. So: Is this true or was it just some crazy, stupid, hopeful dream? Because if it really was a dream, I… “ The dark haired man took a deep breath and run his hands over his face for composure. The god decided it would be best not to force him to finish this sentence.

“If Hel is willing to break her vow to the Norns, then yes. It is possible to resurrect someone from the dead. It has to be a strong soul, but Lady Pepper’s fortitude shall not be questioned.” His friend’s posture immediately relaxed. “I think I know the answer already, but may I ask nevertheless: what was her request to offer such a price?”

“I bet you know.” he let out a low chuckle. “She wants her boy back, I want my girl and back I kinda read between the lines that you want to have your baby brother back so… yeah and I’m not really digging this whole Prometheus-thing with a snake for all eternity. Here he would have stayed some time in prison and that would have been it. Maybe social work afterwards for reintegration or something and that would have been it. That, or killing but since he’s immortal, it would have ended in the former. So, yay, earth!”

“I am glad.” Thor smiled. Genuinely this time. “And thankful for your help, Man of Iron.” Wherefore said man looked at him incredulously.

“You realize you are… you know… a _fucking_ god! I doubt you would need me if you really wanted to save him. Hit the snake with your mighty hammer and return to your magical fairy-wonderland or something like that.”

“I fear it is not as easy as you imagine, my friend.” the blonde said wistfully but his gaze turned remorseful. “My hands hare bound concerning certain matters. There will be a kind of flair needed, I sadly cannot provide as my abilities are restricted to that effect.”

“Ooookay. And what kind of flair would that be?”

“The cave in which my brother is sentenced to dwell is locked twice. Once by a magical barrier that bans everyone with foul intent or powers of destruction –“

“Such as your hammer and your Picachu-Lightning-Powers?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“But my intentions would be ‘foul’ since I want to slay the damned snake.”

“Yes, but there is a loophole. Mortals don’t fall under that restrictions since they are known to be too weak…” Tony scoffed and Thor allowed himself to smirk. Some mortals were truly underestimated. “… and foremost, they are not allowed to ever set foot to Asgard.”

“Oh goodie.”

“Fret not, my friend.” he smiled joyfully and fumbled the pendant of a necklace from under his tunic. “My mother has provided me with a way to bring us there safely and hidden from the eyes of Heimdall, the Allseeing.”

“Even his wife thinks it was a wrong call. Why did your father even do this?”

It was a good question but a hurtful one at the same time for Thor. “It has been important for a treaty with Jotunheim. They wanted revenge as a way of repentance for destroying a good part of their land with the bifrost.”

Apparently, Anthony way more empathetic than people gave him credit. He did not ask further and only seemed engulfed in his own thoughts for some time until his eyes refocused again and he rose from his seat. “Okay, then, let’s do this before I think more about it and realize I’m finally insane. Can I take my suit?”

“I am afraid not. Your armor wields a certain kind of power that might collide with the barrier.”

“Alright. Let’s do this!” the inventor all but shrugged which made Thor unbelievably happy. He stood and wrapped his comrade into a thorough hug. Not in his wildest dreams would he have believed one of his friends to come and offer their help, especially not the Man of Iron considering his most recent loss. It may resemble a contract more than a friendly favor but if this quest meant to see his brother and his friend alive, well and with purpose in life, he would gladly give the arm that wielded Mjölnir.


	3. Before the day's through

Sleep had never been his friend but since this woman, no, goddess had brought him the glimpse of hope he’d thought to never see in his lifetime, Hypnos seemed to have finally given up on him. He used those nightly hours given to him to repair the last suit in his possession, the only one that had been too damaged to become a part of the humongous firework.

It was already morning when he finished and decided to take a shower and pack some food before looking for the God of Thunder. He knew he was stalling – too afraid to hear Thor say it had been nothing more than his imagination and there would be no way to bring Her back to him.

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

“Thor? Buddy? Air! ” he croaked into the Thunderer’s biceps. The hug had come out of nowhere and though it could be considered as a manly hug – the guy could pull off a frilly apron (documented and sent to his phone by Clint, that saint) and still look manly – Tony was very fond of the air in his lungs and the whole-ness of his bones. He was glad to feel the latter were still intact when the blonde let go of him, still smiling like the engineer had promised him a Pony for his birthday. “Thanks.”

“When would you wish to depart on our quest?” the other asked and fumbled a second, almost identical amulet from under his shirt like Natasha conjured knives from god-knows-where as they approached the door for Thor’s quarters.

“I’m pretty much ready. My Suit-suitcase is over there but since we don’t need it…” he was wearing simple jeans, sneakers, a Let Zeppelin shirt and a hoodie. Not really the knight-in-shining-armor-dressup but they were his favorite clothes: comfortable, reassuring and with many pockets. “Don’t we have to wait for Mrs. Liesmith?”

Thor shook his head while putting his armor on piece by piece. “No. Sigyn is protecting my brother from most of the venom since he has been chained. She will help you, once you have reached the main chamber of the cave.”

“And how exactly did she get into my living room then?”

“It was merely a projection, an illusion of herself in order to communicate with you.”

“And how the hell does she protect him? Don’t tell me she holds a bowl under the snake’s fangs to gather the venom.” He let out an amused huff but was silenced by the other’s sincere nod.

“Yes she does.”

“Wait? What? Seriously? I thought you guys weren’t allowed into this main chamber.”

“Sigyn is the Goddess of Marital Fidelity. There is no harm in her powers.” Thor made a little pause and smiled knowingly. “Though one should not underestimate her, it seems.”

“I hope she won’t screw me over out of all her ‘marital fidelity’ to Loki.” Tony grumbled. Their deal was nice and all but what if Loki just told everyone ‘so long and thanks for all the fish’, would she still be true to her word or would she wave them goodbye and the two of them would pop off cackling like Bonnie and Clyde?

“I doubt that she would betray you. She has her own mind and Loki is not as ungrateful as you might think. But if she dares to break your treaty, you still have my oath to help you.”

“Whatever. Let’s go, I will kick his ass if he tricks me and then let Jolly Green have his merry way with him.” the genius answered grimly and took the pendant the god offered him.

“Wind it around your neck, breathe in deeply and hold tight.”

“Okay and what do-“

A tornado of light swallowed him and his last words.

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

The last of the light faded and left Tony blinking and clutching to Thor in a humiliatingly freaked out way.

“I don’t know if this was absolutely amazing or just unbelievably trippy.” He let go reluctantly and looked around. Trees, tall and obviously very old, surrounded them and only let some rays pass through their roof of greenery and branches. The floor was soft and mossy and everything smelled like summer, but the thing that really caught his eye was the entrance to their destined cave: Ornaments, similar to the Celtic knots, framed the black hole that seemed to swallow all light.

“Welcome to Asgard, the Realm of Eternal Summer.” He saw the god smiling softly when he turned around but his whole demeanor shifted into something more determined. “We should go. I don’t know how intensely Heimdall keeps track of this part of the realm and even though I trust my mother’s work, we should not waste time.”

He nodded and was relieved when Thor summoned a blue ball of pure energy, twitching with small lightnings. The darkness itself was no problem but in a world full beasts maybe only immortals were able to defeat, he felt small and vulnerable without his armor. He knew he was no damsel in distress without it, but he was not Steve either and he was not overly fond of caves either.

The corridor was wide enough for two people to walk and it was nice and chilly. Silence hung upon their heads though their walk was not very long, fifteen minutes at most until they reached … well … daylight illuminated an atrium full of bushes, small trees and grass and though he could not see, Tony heard a streams purl. It was peaceful and honestly the last thing he would have expected here. And then he ran into Thor.

“Hey, what…” He looked up in time to see his amiable façade crumble into something grief-stricken.

“Loki… my brother and I… when we were kids we used to come here to play.” the other answered before he could even ask and let out a painful laugh. “I forgot it was this cave…”

“Oh…” Wow, so much for his talent to master awkward conversation. He tried it with a pat on the other’s shoulder. “That’s one more reason to carry on and carry brother-dear out. Huh?”

The blonde nodded slowly but when they had walked only a few steps, he stopped again in front of the next gaping hole/ entrance. “I fear this is where our paths separate. You have to continue alone.” He looked at the engineer with so much hope and anticipation in his baby blue eyes, it was almost a crushing weight settling on him. Why the hell did people around him suddenly expect him to succeed? It was easier to prove people wrong when they were disappointed from the start.

Tony swallowed hard. “Okay.” he patted his bulky muscles again for good measure. “Well, Santa, let me get your Rudolph back. I’ll try to make it fast.” He really did not want to come back to a sad Thor. That was almost as horrible as kicking a puppy.

Without another look back he walked into the next tunnel. It was strange, almost like walking through a wall of warm air and a bit of electricity. But the moment both feet had crossed the threshold, it was gone, same as the question whether he should have asked Thor for one of his nifty lightning bubbles. Veins of golden light nerved the walls around him and illuminated his way quite pleasantly. Tony had to suppress the urge to look into this phenomenon thoroughly and keep on walking.

That was, until the veins became a symmetric net of straighter lines that lead to a chamber. That was when the genius remembered: Thor had not told him about the second lock. Wonderful! Expectantly annoyed, he looked at a natural wall of stone with a rather unnatural hole in it.

And now?!


	4. And we are lead ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! I'm awfully sorry it took me so long! And I also want to apologize for my incapability to wite suspense  
> Thank you all for your lovely support!
> 
> And yes, I totally stole from Final Fantasy X here! |D

For a moment there, he had, admittedly, freaked out a bit but in the end, he was a genius after all. Duh! It only took him a few moments to find the column on his right with a large marble of crystal or glass on each of its four sides. They looked grey just like the stone but when Tony approached, he could see small lightning flicker in a marble’s core. One had a heart of dark blue, one of gold, one of green and one of light blue lightning. There were interstices so the marbles were apparently meant to be taken out of their lithic bed but there was only one hollow.

_What if I take the wrong one and die a horrible death?!_

It was a fleeting thought because what would it matter? There was no other engraving in one of the stone walls and even if there had been no one could expect him to read Asgardian gibberish. So one of Midgard’s brightest minds took the pretty golden marble because it was shiny and considering the glowing veins that illuminated the halls it made a pretty obvious first choice.

To 90%, he expected it to be the wrong one though he had definitely not expected the floor to crumble and slowly open a stereotypical pit of no return.

“Holy shit!” was the first that slipped his tongue when he removed the marble of doom. To his utter delight, the crack in the floor just seemed to widen a bit faster than before instead of stopping to like a good little death trap.

That was when the inventor got fast. He let the golden ball fall to the floor and all but ran to the column to collect the remaining orbs all at once. Which he probably shouldn’t have done because the column started to lean his way and had he not exceptionally good reflexes, thank you very much, he would have ended as a bloody pulp. Swallowing hard he gave the pile of rubble one last look before sprinting back to the hole of doom and tried the dark blue one – he refrained from the green one because of obviousness – but he was wrong again. He realized that little fact when he heard a swishing noise and a moment later felt a pang of pain in his right shoulder. Luckily, most bolts met the wall a few inches higher and for the first time in his life he was glad to be shorter than the ordinary Asgardian _and_ he wore his undershirt out of protective fabric for his suit (he was a man in a glorified tin-can after all). Thank god for small mercies, but the thing in his shoulder still hurt as hell but now was not the time to contemplate over pain and panic so he ripped out the second marble and replaced it with the light blue orb. Once again there was rumbling and crumbling of rock to be head but this time, the mortal was able to see a widening gap in front of him rather than below or above him.

Hysteric laughter fell from his lips because fuck yeah it had worked! He was not going to die yet and he was still one hell of a genius. At least sort of because when he victory-fist-pumped, fire ignited in his right arm and let him swear a blue streak. But it did not matter that his arm ached because he would kill that snake, free is former arch enemy and get Pepper back.

It was time to kick ass.

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

How much time had passed since her astral projection had returned from the mortal realm? She did not know. Sigyn hoped the short talk and the promise had been enough to lure the Man of Iron here.

Loki had not scolded her for her carelessness when she had been too distracted by her illusion on Midgard, when the bowl had slightly tilted and spilled some of the venom. Silent hisses of pain, yes, but never towards her. She knew he did not want her pity even though it was not compassion that made her arms hold the bowl for months now. The goddess had long given up on trying assuring him of her love and honest devotion and it would not surprise her, would he still believe her to be after a crown. People called her naïve and foolish for following a liar, a monster, a traitor and it gave her all the more reason to stay with him because there had to be at least one person to bestow this man with undivided and unconditional affection.

The faint sound of breaking stone tore Sigyn from her thoughts and made her heart beat so fast, she was almost sure, her husband would hear. “He is coming!” she whispered excitedly and with a delighted smile on her lips, relief washing over her in liberating waves. “He is really coming.”

“Who?” his voice was brittle from the lack of use.

“Wayland.”

Loki huffed mockingly. “The legendary blacksmith that died centuries ago? I fear the isolation does not agree with you, Sigyn.”

She smirked in return but was sure he would not see it. He never saw her. “No.”

Just in time, insane cackling of joy sounded through the widening crack in the left-hand wall and the Liesmith’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Stark !?”

“Mortals can easily pass the barrier.”

“But who brought him-“

Luckily, Anthony Stark saved her from mentioning the Thunderer’s name and thus an impending outburst of fury on the part of her dumbstruck spouse. “Wow, with a pair of nice curtains, it’s almost comfy here.”

“Perhaps, but we were thinking of moving out.” she countered but could not avoid relief bleeding into her voice. The flicker of a smile appeared on the mortal’s face before his gaze went up to the admittedly low ceiling, where the dreadful snake hung and spat her poison in endless drops. The serpent as well was protected by a barrier but the goddess was sure it only stopped Aesir from harming the abomination.

“Yeah I can see why. Your neighbor is a proper spitfire.”And while she was wondering where he was hiding his weapon of choice, he did one the craziest think she had ever witnessed (and thanks to Loki she had seen many insane situations). Anthony all but grabbed the snake’s tail with his left hand and yanked it down. Apparently also the animal had not seen this coming and froze for a moment but that was all it took Sigyn to throw away the bowl and grab its neck and squeeze its jaw tight before it started to squirm and spatter her venom in panic.

“What now?”

“Pit. Next room.”

The blonde nodded and they hurried to throw the serpent into the abyss. Wow. That was it. That was the damned animal that had plagued them for months. Gone. It was over. No. Not over. They had to make it out of the cave and far, far away before the Einherjar came and the whole mission had been in vain but…

“Fuck, I think I hate magical snakes more than normal snakes. And I really hate those!” She could not help to smile wistfully at his words but looked at him inquiringly.

“Are you hurt, Man of Iron?” The redundancy of the question showed when he turned slightly and she saw a massive bolt sticking out of his right shoulder blade. She winced in sympathy but he just waved the matter aside.

“Later. If I pull it out now, it will bleed. Right now it’s more of a cork so…” Both nodded in forced agreement and faced Loki who still chained tightly to the boulder but was watching them with a mixture of disbelief, surprise and distrust. Stark did not seem to bother though. “And how do we unleash you, Mr. I-defenestrate-people-who-offer-me-a-drink?” The smirk the inventor shot her husband was filled with dangerous mischief and only pearls of sweat indicated the pain he had to be in. While talking, he walked closer to examine the lock. He seemed to be at least somewhat familiar with the system because only after a few minutes of being glared at by Loki, he fumbled inside one of his pockets, pulled out some kind of lock picking device and started working. And then, just like that, a clicking sounded. Tears of joy filled Sigyn’s eyes at the sight of her beloved disengaging himself from his heavy chains. Finally, he was free.


	5. ... to those who help us most grow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ther guys!  
> I'm so sorry for the delay and the shortness of this chapter! My internship took more of my time and stamina than previously imagined and now that I'm back to normal I just have to catch up on so much. I promise the next ones will be longer!

“I can heal you now, at least a bit.”

  
“Huh?” Tony turned to the blonde Aesir who just looked pointedly at his shoulder. “Oh yeah. That would be good, I guess. But only if you don’t touch our previous deal.” His eyes became hard with determination and stubbornness but she just smiled and shook his head. Her features seemed less grim than the last time he saw her or even moments ago.

  
“No, Man of Iron. I would not dare to do such a thing and only wish for your well-being. I am indebted to you but I also would not see my honorable blacksmith suffer because of the task I asked of him.” Her smile grew softer as it became cryptic.

  
“Alright.” He just shot her an irritated look and gave a nod after which the woman approached his now throbbing side and after a faint ripping sound, she handed him a long string of leather which she folded to a proper strand.

  
“Bite down while I pull.” And after he complied, she gripped his shoulder with one hand, the bolt with another and pulled. A harsh pain washed over his mind just like the moment, the dreaded thing had pierced him but all of a sudden, it subsided and was replaced by comfortable warmth spreading through his whole arm. When he looked back, he could see a faint white-golden glow flowing around her hand. Maybe magic wasn’t so bad at all…

  
After what only seemed like a minute, the glow diluted and the woman took away her hand. With a loud clatter, the bolt landed on the floor and a proud smile tugged to her features. “Don’t strain the shoulder too much or the wound will reopen, but for now, you are on the safe side.”

  
“Well… uh thanks.” Tony nodded in a slightly better mannered fashion than used to and scratched his beard until God of Impatience cleared his throat. “Then off we pop.” And with one last look to earth’s mightiest enemy, he went for the exit. Luckily the pit had stopped widening, when he had used the correct marble and had thus left sufficient space to walk around it without worrying too much and the way back to the atrium was short enough and if he was lucky, Thor would focus too much on his cutesy-wootsy and eerily silent menace of a baby brother and forget to hug. Even the Sigyn’s healing ability was not strong enough to make him resistible to the Thunderer’s bone crushing affection.

  
The God of Thunder was sitting on a rock, looking like a lost puppy and apparently took a moment to come back from angsty-land so the first thing he saw was in fact Loki. That was also the second when the idea came to his genius brain that this might not have been the best thing to happen in this almost enclosed room with all this attempted murder in the brothers’ past and stuff. One look at Sigyn told him he was not the only one frightened by this prospect. What was even more alarming was the eerie silence spreading from both men. Not that he had expected Loki to say more than one word after their quiet walk through the tunnels but Thor’s lack of speech baffled him quite a bit. All they did was staring at each other for what felt like an eternity and waiting for the tension to rise high enough to drown. Anyway, he needed one of them whole and he did not dislike the idea of having the other one in one piece as well so…

  
A hand stopped the engineer in his tracks. Dumbfounded, he looked down to the fingers sprawling over his chest and then further to their owner. The goddess did not even look at him but stared right at the scene, her words not more than a barely audible whisper. “No. Wait.” And so he did.

  
It was Thor who spoke first. “Brother…”

  
Loki swallowed visibly, slowly recovering from his deer-in-headlights-numbness. “Brother.” His voice was quieter but more resolute than the blondes and it just seemed like a spell of liveliness cast upon the latter who surged forward and slung his broad arms around the more slender figure who not just endured it, but after a moment or two even lifted his arms to return the hug.

  
The inventor’s attention was diverted, when something tugged at his hand and then suddenly pulled him away. “Let them have some privacy.” the goddess murmured into his ear. Protesting was of no use. As Aesir she was just as strong as Cap on his best days and so, instead of risking a dislocated shoulder, he stuck to mumbling a few objections but let himself be pulled towards the second entrance, a bit further away from the now quietly conversing brothers.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

“Stop right there, traitors!”

  
The little group froze in their spot when a powerful voice echoed through the last few meters of the cave.

  
“Fuck! Who’s this guy?” Tony murmured in the general direction of Thor and Sigyn since Loki had apparently developed selected mutism or something like that.

  
“Shush, don’t make a sound.” Thor hissed. “It’s the Einherjar. I would not have thought them to be this fast…”

  
And then, it happened all at once. The trampling of feet, many feet sounded, armour clanking dangerously. The Thunderer postured himself to fill the whole of the way and Sigyn pushed both him and her husband back towards the atrium. “Run in there and hide.” She graced both of them with a fierce look. “Do not object. They will not see you. Do not make a sound and you will be safe.” Her determined and commanding eyes lay on Loki, staring at him until he gave her a faint nod. With that, she let go and ran back towards the main entrance and right into the arms of Odin’s precious guards.


	6. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all: I am so very sorry for not having written anything in such a long time!  
> When I started the original 6th chapter, I had such a problem with getting to the point (character and plot wise) that I abandonned this fic for a long time (plus: university made me even more scatterbrained than before xD)
> 
> Then: This interlude-drabble is to show you I have not given up on Wayland's song. I don't know when I will finish the next chapter but I promise you I will. There is still such a long way to go for our precious babies ♥
> 
> For all of you who bear with me: I can't thank you enough, lovely readers!

After the heat, the flames, the blazing inferno, there was nothing. Nothing left of her surroundings, nothing left of her. Nothing but a dull ache, a longing after something… someone. She did not even know who or what she was, how could she feel yearning for someone? Brown, gentle eyes full of life and love and brilliance. Strong hands, callused but gentle…

It hurt.

It hurt to think of this… of him but she clung to those memories with everything she got. It… _he_ was hers.

“And you are _his_.” a faint echo in the back of her mind whispered.


	7. On your own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh, that was fast. I figured out that writing is way easier when I write it in my native language first and then translate.  
> Since I don't have a beta for this one, please bear with my mistakes or help me find them ;)  
> If you have things you want to happen in this story, feel free to send me your suggestions (here or via [tumblr](http://www.auripigmentum.tumblr.com))
> 
> Thank you again for your wonderful support! ♥
> 
> PS: I'm changing the older chapters' titles just so you know ;)

_Fools, alltogether!_

Grinding his teeth, he reached for the mortal’s healthy arm and pulled him back towards the direction of the atrium.

“Hey-“

“Be silent.” he hissed at the Man of Iron who immediately started to pull away.

“Then stop hauling me around like a pissed off mother her child at a supermarket.” the stubborn moron growled back – luckily equally quiet.

With an eye-roll, the god let go because, by the Norns, he had bigger worries right now than a quarrelsome mortal. It was already bad enough to be in his debt thanks to whatever reason that may have driven the man and now the same applied to his br… to Thor.

The natural courtyard of the cave which they reentered now was as familiar to him as any other playground of his youth. Thor and him had often played hide and seek in this very place and wasn’t this interesting? Someone had chosen the exact cave complex whose hideouts the convict knew by heart. Though he was a lot taller now and had an annoying sidekick it should not make a great difference… At a quick pace he walked along the stone wall until the thicket of several larger hedges and trees became more and more impervious.

“If you think I will crawl through a thorn hedge you are greatly mistaken, sleeping beauty.” The mutter made his lips curl into a sneer before he turned around to face the mortal.

“But Stark, here I thought you were one of those midgardian superheros who are not to be stopped by task, regardless of the severity.”

“First of all: This here is not severe, this is pricky and secondly: do you see my armor anywhere? No? Hence, I’m not a superhero right now. So you either magically summon some hedge shears or you will look for another way through.

“That or…” with a smug smile he tore at a slightly dried bush-that-was-not and thus opened a hidden passageway. The spot behind was quite overgrown by now but it should suffice for now. Thus, he ushered the mortal inside and followed on his heels, paying attention the door was well closed again afterwards. They would not be able to stand upright without attracting attention but the man had apparently made a similar assumption and let himself sink to the ground to lean against the trunk of a tree the moment Loki turned around. Pearls of sweat were forming on the human’s brows and dark circles shadowed the pale flesh but the stubborn look in his eyes scotched any commentary on the god’s part. Not his problem, then.

He settled himself close to the wall and leaned his head against the cool stone, one leg pulled up the other stretched out. His gaze swept over this little hoard of his childhood. Right next to Stark, there was a toy-axe mired in the ground, barely noticeable since Mother Nature had already taken her toll.

“Okay, care to explain why Blondie one and two thought we would be safe here? In a cave. Without another exit except for this hole with no access whatsoever about 80 feet up in the air.”

The other’s words pulled him out of his nostalgic trance. For a moment, he remained silent and instead fumbled for the amulet that now hung around his neck. His fingers closed around the piece of jewelry and traced the familiar ornaments. Frigga’s crest. Thor, this oaf.

“Because the Einherjar can’t see us as long as we wear these.” He held the pendant high enough for the other to see. “But the emphasis is on _seeing_. The can still hear as and will notice when we touch them.”

“Which means Thunderboy gave you this amulet because he knew this would happen and we will wait right here until the guys are gone because they will think you somehow cleared off through the window and…” Faint clangor or armor in the distance let the mortal fall silence at once. Good, at least this one wasn’t stupid. Reckless and a fool but at least intelligent enough to add one and one together. And he apparently had a decent reaction time. Sigyn could have chosen worse in her fatuous dotingness for heroes long gone.

 

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

 

He had not noticed the flatness of his breathing but when Odin’s little watchdogs retreated after what felt like half an hour, Loki’s lungs were burning. But he did not seem to be the only one who had breathed as flat and as quietly as possible because only a few feet away, another lung was audibly filled with oxygen.

“Well… this was tedious.” he mumbled but made no attempts to rise just yet.

“And now?” Loki gave an eyeroll. Always asking the obvious.

„ _Now_ we will wait until those tin cans are far enough away to remain unsuspicious of our presence and then _I_ will have to find some way to fish those two boneheads out of Asgard’s dungeons.” He already knew it would be a tough job since he had to do it unnoticed. Moth… Friga would probably help him since she obviously was already knee deep in this whole mess. This much was clear as day but he had to attain to her…

“You will do jack shit alone.” The human net to him growled. “You can’t even go through with a shabby invasion. I’ll come with you.”

The surprising imprudence made him laugh out loud. “What can a mortal like _you_ possibly accomplish? Humans are forbidden to ever enter Asgard under penalty of death if not explicitly invited by the king and since you just helped a mass murderer and attempted usurper, they will certainly not welcome you with open arms.”

“Would you finally stop underestimating humans?! It’s fucking annoying. Wasn’t it enough that we already spanked your sorry little ass pretty hard some time ago?” Now it was Stark’s turn to give him an annoyed eye-roll. “I will come along with you if you like it or not. You are in my damn debt if I recall it right and your wife has promised me something she can’t fulfill when she’s rotting in some moldy dungeon!”

So that was the past piece of the puzzle. The reason, why the mortal had agreed to help Thor. Loki had never believed it to be out of the goodness of his heart anyway. There was too much showmanship in the man’s demeanor, to many false masks involved which the God of Lies could see but not unravel.

“What can _your_ heart desire you need the help of your nemesis’ wife?” Soundless laughter escaped his throat.

“Spare me your self-adulation. On my list, you are barely under the top 5. There have been bigger assholes before and especially after you that have butchered my life.” A painful expression crept into the man’s features at this last sentence and for a moment there he looked unbelievably old.

“Whatever. This still doesn’t answer my question.”

“My girlfriend is dead and I want her back. Your Misses said you could arrange something with your daughter.”

“Please say that again because I can’t believe I heard that right. You want me to persuade the Mistress of the Netherworld to bring back a soul just because your little lady friend answered the final summons?!” It was nice to know that he was still capable of pushing people’s buttons but as much as he didn’t care, the mortal’s fingers around his throat bore a power he would not have ever expected. Interesting, though still quite useless since he could easily push him away.

“Pepper is not a _fling_!” The man pressed through his teeth. “She is the only family I’ve got. She is my lodestar and I am lost without her and I certainly will not give up without a fight when there’s still hope left to get her back.”

It was truly pathetic: despite their rather short lifespan humans obviously had nothing better to do than to convince themselves of their own fairy tales. Bored, he pushed Stark away and rose from his spot. “Please spare me with your sentimental babbling.” He lifted his hand in warning when he felt the human breathe in for another protest. “It is true that I am indeed in your debt but that still does not mean that I would be interested in the story of your life. And now let us go. We already have wasted time.”

Without waiting any longer, he pushed the door open and stepped outside. Asgard was not too far away. One day’s journey afoot perhaps. Loki just hoped Stark would not get in his way if he had to tag along – he did not even expect him tob e useful. He was nice that way.

“Come, we don’t have all the time in the world.”


End file.
